Authorities apologise after realising huge radiation spike at Fukushima was a mistake
Authorities apologise after realising huge radiation spike at Fukushima was a mistake
ADVERTISEMENT
The apology came after employees fled the complex's Unit 2 reactor when a reading showed radiation levels had reached 10 million times higher than normal in the reactor's cooling system.
People wear gas masks to protest against nuclear plants in front of the TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo yesterday
Officials said they were so high that the worker taking the measurements had withdrawn before taking a second reading.
Yesterday, though, plant operators said that while the water was contaminated with radiation, the extremely high reading was a mistake.
"The number is not credible," said Tokyo Electric Power Co spokesman Takashi Kurita. "We are very sorry."
He said officials were taking another sample to get accurate levels, but did not know when the results would be announced.
The situation came as officials acknowledged there was radioactive water in all four of the Fukushima Daiichi complex's most troubled reactors, and as airborne radiation in Unit 2 measured 1,000 millisieverts per hour four times the limit deemed safe by the government, Kurita said.
Officials say they still don't know where the radioactive water is coming from, though government spokesman Yukio Edano has said some is "almost certainly" seeping from a cracked reactor core in one of the units.
While the discovery of the high radiation levels and the evacuation of workers from one reactor unit again delayed efforts to bring the deeply troubled complex under control, Edano insisted the situation had partially stabilised.
The discovery over the last three days of radioactive water has been a major setback in the mission to get the plant's crucial cooling systems operating.
Food concerns
The protracted nuclear crisis has spurred concerns about the safety of food and water in Japan. Radiation has been found in food, seawater and even tap water supplies in Tokyo.
Hidehiko Nishiyama, a nuclear safety official, said the increase was a concern, but also said the area is not a source of seafood and that the contamination posed no immediate threat to human health.
A top TEPCO official acknowledged yesterday it could take a long time to completely clean up the complex.
"We cannot say at this time how many months or years it will take," said TEPCO Vice President Sakae Muto.
Search for Orphans
Authorities have launched a massive search for hundreds of orphaned children in Iwate, which suffered maximum deaths in the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami. The child welfare experts will initially work in groups of three and look for children without parents at evacuation shelters along with people in charge at the shelters.
Charity Efforts
Singer Gwen Stefani has donated $1 million (Rs 4.5 crore) to the relief effort in Japan. The money, presented to Save the Children's Japan Earthquake-Tsunami Children in emergency fund, will help finance ongoing recovery efforts in the country.
10,668
Number of people who have died since the earthquake
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
